Page 98 of Ink & Ambition

“And happy hour is at four, you don’t wanna miss that,” she winks at me and I hold in my giggle.

“We wouldn’t dream of it,” Alex says with full sincerity. I swear, the way he is with people makes me care for him more and more every day. He’s so genuine and kind. I have no idea how Alex turned out the way he did with his father in charge but I’m eternally grateful that he did.

After insisting three times that we can carry our bags, Susan shows us our room and wishes us a good night. When I turn the light on, the first thing I notice is the bed. A huge four-poster with a canopy and curtains rests in the middle of the room, taking up a large majority of it. The sheets are a pale pink that match the pink wall and pink towels on the dresser.

“Very…” Alex starts.

“Pink,” I finish. “How did you find this place?”

Alex sets our bags down and goes to investigate the bathroom. “A quick google search. I knew I wanted to come to Oceanside, I just didn’t know where to stay.”

Sitting on the bed, I feel the firmness of the mattress underneath me. “And why Oceanside?”

Alex pauses in the doorway from the bathroom. He leans against the wall, deep in thought. “When we were kids, we usedto come on vacation here. Some of the best times of my life have been spent on this beach.” His mouth closes and I know the things he’s not saying.Some of the worst times too.

I walk across the room to meet him, shuffling over and placing my hands on his upper arms. “I’m excited for you to show me the beach tomorrow.” Reaching up on my tippy toes, I place a kiss on his nose.

Alex sighs against me, gripping my waist tightly. He rests his forehead against mine and breathes me in. “Did you know you smell like coconut? All the time?”

“Do I?”

Quickly, I mentally catalog all the skincare, hair care and body wash I use and none of them include coconut as an ingredient.

He takes another big whiff. “You smell like the beach.” Alex leans back and meets my eyes. Then he kisses me with a force I didn’t expect but am very welcome to. He moves his hands from my hips to circling my waist and he walks us backward toward the bed as his kiss deepens. When the back of my legs meet resistance, I know we’ve hit the mattress.

“Alex,” I say against his lips. “You know I—”

He stops immediately. “Of course, I’m sorry. I’ll slow down.” He starts to pull away but I grab him tighter, bringing his lips back to mine for a brief, heated moment.

“No, that didn’t mean stop. That meant: be gentle with me.”

He kisses me lighter this time and I can already tell he’s slipping away, wanting to stop this. But I don’t want to stop this. I want to keep going. I want to go all the way. I keep his lips against mine but open my mouth wider to allow his tongue access.

“Margot, wait,” he protests as I sit on the bed, pulling him down so he’s bending to reach me.

“No. No waiting.” Moving back more center onto the firm mattress, I motion for him to join me.

“Are you sure?”

In a moment of desperate vulnerability, I answer truthfully. “I’ve been sure about you for longer than I ever even admitted to myself.”

The tether that was holding Alex to his moral high ground snaps and he launches himself onto the bed, meeting our lips together again. I love the feeling of his full pout against mine. Like we were molded to fit each other.

Laying back, I take Alex’s t-shirt with me over his head and he makes quick work of the button down shirt I’m wearing, each button quicker than the next. I don’t want to think about how much practice he’s had with removing girl’s clothing. Or his expertise at every sex position known to man. Or the fact that his dick has been in—

“Here, baby.” Alex takes my chin in his hand and moves my face so our eyes are linked. “Get out of that beautiful head of yours and look right here.” He nods and I do, too. Once satisfied that I’m fully locked in, he continues to pepper my neck with kisses as he moves his body south down mine. With my buttoned shirt wide open, he has access to every inch of my torso not covered by my bra. And when he gets there…

“A front clasp? Nice,” he cheers, making quick work of that as well. I get no moment to be self-conscious of my bare breasts out on display as he immediately takes one in his mouth and massages the other. The feeling is like nothing I’ve ever felt before.

I throw my head back and bite my lip to keep the sounds from escaping. Alex pinches my chin to release my bottom lip.

“Oh, no. Let it out. I wanna hear you.”

I look down and see Alex’s body raised above mine. God, he is so hot. The type of hot you daydream about. Not the type you actually get to have. With a feral grin, I pull his face to mine and kiss the ever-loving daylights out of him. He moves to unbuttonhis jeans and slide them off as we kiss. My breath draws as he pulls away, grabbing the condom from this front pocket before throwing his jeans to the floor.

Alex sits back on his heels and looks at me. It takes everything I have not to cover up my chest. “You are so beautiful,” he says, placing a gentle kiss on my lips. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yes. I’m sure about you.”

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